Box-stapling machine



Nov. 25?; s 1926. 1,608,049

H. B. WALTER BOX STAPLING MACHINE i Filed Nov. 9, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 23 ,'1926. 1,608,049

i H. B. WALTER BOX STAPLING MACHINE Filed Nov. 9', 1923 .'5 Sheets-Sheet 2 New.J 23 9 N26.

H. B. WALTER Box sTAPLING MACHINE Fued Nov'. 9. 192s 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Nov; 23, 1,926. 4

UNITED? STATES MTENT OFFICE.

HARRISON B. WALTER, or cHIcAGo, ILLINOIS, AssIGNoR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

i TO CONTAINER CORPORATION vF,- AMERICA, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORA- rIoN or' DELAWARE. Y

'Box-STAPLING MACHINE.

Application led November 9, 1923. Serial No. 673,632.

This inventionrelates to an improvement iny box-stapling machines of the kind de signed for .use in 'applying and Securin the flangedheads to the tubular body ol the familiar recessed-end box made of lfibre board, paper board or the like, and consists -ofthe matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claim.,

' It has been necessary heretofore, when 'stapling the flanged heads o-f boxes of the kind tokthe tubular ends of the box body, to use a rolling deck and box-form, Such as shown in Patent N0.,1,253,754, issued to ine on January 15, 1918,'and a stapling machine With a vertically adjustable head and movable clinching block such as shown in Patent No. 1,250, 7 35, also issued to me, on December 18, 1917. A form of the cross section and length corresponding `to the inner dimensions of the box is required for every Size of box, thus necessitating a number cf forms corresponding to the number of different sizes of boxes to be operated upon. In addition, vthestapling head being capableof vertical adjustment is required to be adjusted to' accommodate boxes of different lengths. And by a movable clinching block only may the flange and body of the box be'brought Vinto pro er position for clinching p-urposes. 'K The o ject of the present invention is to provide improvements iny a comb-ined staplingmachine and fixed deck or box Support, by means of` which a box of any size,either as t'o cross Section or as to length, may have its flanged head stapled within the tubular end of the body without' the use of any form within the box, and without any adjustment o f the Staplin head.

This and ot er objects of the vinvention will appear more fully as I proceed with my specification. v 'j In the drawings l Fig. 1 isa view representing a side ele.- vation of the improved machine with a box shown thereon in the. position which it oc`l cupies when a flanged head is being secured to one end of its tubular body... l

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the machine. Fig. 3 iS a view .representing a front elevation of the machine. s

Fig. 4 is a view representing on an en-. larged scale, a transversedfsection through the top of the table on which the box isto be.

operated upon is supported'.

chine. d v.

F ig. 6 is a` fragmentary View representing i yprising vertically j j .horizontal bars or arms 23,. 23. The arms Fig. 5 is a View representing injperspec.-

tive a gauge stop rail embodied in the maa front elevation of the table with a part of the box body indicated in dottedlines as it appears when being shifted from side to' side in the Stapling operation.-

Referring now to that embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings 10` indicates an upright-standard or framogfl'l indlcates a s tapling vhead of familiar construction; 12'indicates an operating shaft,

13,'a gear thereon and 1 4, a motor opera-- `tively connected to the said gear; 121- ndicates a clutch for operatiyely connecting the gear 13 to the operating shaft 12; and

15, 16 indicate the familiar trea-dle andw spring controlled link for throwinglthe' clutch 12" 'into and out of operative connection with the operating shaft 12 of the stapling machine.

These partsare all of familiar construction .and may be substantially as shown in the above named Letters Patent No. 1,250,- 735 heretofore granted to me -on December 8, 1917, except in details now to bementioned.

The stapling head 11 is in this case rigidly attached to the standard and is arranged in a vertical position so as to form and drive the staple upwardly, instead of horizontally as in the patent above referred Ito. In addition, the stapling machine is provided with a fixed clinching block 17, located vertically above the stapling head in position to be operatively engaged therebyf-said Stapling head being fixed to an overhanging arm 18 which is fixed to the main frame of the stapling machine.

1 9 indicates a horizontal table located plurality of longitudinally extending, parallel s aced rails 20 mounted on transversely exten in angle bars 21. The angle bars21 are attac ed to u right end frames comdisposed bars 22, 22and 23, 23 project rearwardly be `ond the vertical driving plane of the stap ing mechanism and are mounted at their ends on studs 24 fixed to the sides of the frame 10. The conioo struction is such that the table 19 may be swung on the studs from its normal horizontal position shown in Fig. 1, to a lower position as shown by the dotted lines 19a in said figure. To support the table in the normal horizontal position there is provided an upwardly inclined strut rod 25 which is pivotally connected at its upper end to a longitudinal rod 26, connecting the bottom bars 23 of its end frame members. The bottom endof said strut bar is engaged in the angle of a shouldered plate 27, secured in any convenient manner for vert-ical adjusts ment to the front of the frame 10. When rit is desired to swing the table 19 from horizontal position to the dotted position shown in Fig. 1, it is only necessary to raise the table high enough to disengage the bottom end of the strut rod from the angle 2'?a in the said shouldered plate 27', whereupon the strut rod may be swung out of the way and the table may be lowered.

The stapling head, as in the case of the machine shown in the patent heretofore referred to, is provided with a hinged cover plate 28 which encloses thel forming, cutting and driving members of the stapling head (not shown). Said cover plate is normally held in closed position by means of a strap 29 and thumb nuts 30 at its upper end.` By disengaging said strap from the upper end of the plate, Athe plate may be swung downwardly on its pivotal connection with the stapling head (indicated at 31) so as to get at the inner mechanism of said stapling head for purposes of adjustment, renewals or sharpenin The table 19 in its normal horizontal position stands somewhat in the way, for easy access to the cover plate 28; but by bringin the table into its lower'.- position as above escribed, ready access to said cover plate 28 is given.

The table 19 is adapted to support a tubular box body'32 with a fianged head 33 inserted therein in a position so that the stapling head will drive staples vertically l through the body and the flanges of the head fill to be clinched against the fixed clinching block'17 on the inside of the said flanges. To determine the position of the box body 32 on the table 19, a longitudinally extend` lng stop bar 34 is fixed to the stapling head in position toengage the edges of the tubu-V lar body and of the flanged head, whenthe body has been brought to the proper position for stapling. Said sto b'ar, as shown, con- 'sists of an angle bar with one flange vertical for engagement with the box body and the other ange'horizontal for attachment to the stapling head. Said bar is preferably attached to said stapling head by lag screws or bolts 35 in such manner as to make it horizontally adjustable with reference to the vertical plane of'operation of the stapling head, .and to this end theA horizontal flange of the connecting bar 4constituting said stop bar is provided with transverse slots 35* through which the bolts or lag screws 35 extend.l The stop bar is also supported by straps 36 from the frame 10,-the said straps having bolt and slot connections 36ay to permit the ladjustment described. By loosening said bolts the bar maybe adjusted in one direction or the other with reference to the vertical plane of operation of the stapling head.

The clinchin@r bar 17 depends downwardly in4 front of said stop bar, as' clearly shown in Fig. 1, so that there is room back ofsaid clinching block for the adjustment described. ln practice the stop bar 34 is adjusted with reference to the plane of operation of the stapling head to correspond with the depth of the flange on the head of thebox, so that the tubular body with the flanged head inheads of the boxes are, by preference, made large enough to fit `snugly within the ends of the tubular body, so as to be retained byl friction in the proper .position while being handled preliminary to and dur-ing the stapling o eration. n

The ar 34- is preferably curved at its ends, as indicated at 34a, to prevent the ends from engaging in the recessed ends of the box when the box is placed upon the table. The longitudinal rails 20, constituting the top of the table are, for the -same.purpose, curved downwardly at their ends as indicated at 20a.

To facilitate the movement of the box body on the top of the table in moving it, particularly when loaded, to apply staples successively in'spaced positions through the marginal end of the tubular bodyand the flange of the head, antifriction devices are preferably provided on the table. As shown, these consist of a plurality of rows of anti-friction rollers 37 supported in any convenient manner,-as shown, by parallel spaced, longitudinally extending rails 38.

In operation, a box with the head applied is placed upon the table and its. endv is brought into engagement against the stop bar 34.-, with the clinching block near one corner of the box. The treadle 15 is then pressed. and the box is pushed rapidly across the table, 'the staples Ybeing applied inthe usual way until the next adjacent corner of said box is reached, The treadle is then the rails 38,

released and the box is turned or rotated on its corner to bring the next adjacent side upon the table and the operation is continued until the four sides of the box have been operated upon. To facilitate the turning of the box on the table, grooves 2Oc are preferably formed in .the bars and in (see Fig. 2),said grooves being in a row extendingtransversely across the table in the vertical plane of operation of the stapling mechanism. When the box has been fed along the table until the last staple is applied to the side that is being operated upon and it is necessary to turn the l box on its next adjacent corner to bring the neXt side of the box into operative position, the corner will slip easily in the line of grooves 20X, which thus facilitates the turning` operation. Y

he new machine presents a table and associated stapling mechanism for rapidly stapling in the ends of boxes of the lrind and for their rapid and easy handling with the little attention capable of being given by workmen of ordinary intelligence. Boxes of any size may be headed on the machine. No forms are required, as in the case of machines o the kind heretofore used'. No adjustment of the stapling head ori the standard frame is required for boxes of different lengths, the stapling head being fixed and always occupying the same relation to the horizontal position of the box supporting deck or table. At the same time, the

-deck or table may be readily moved to give full and easy access to the stapling head, to remove or repair the parts therein. And the clincliing block is rigidly fixed with reference to the stap-ling head, thus insuring a perfect clinching of the staples, which are driven vertically from the outside and clinched against the inside of the end flange of the box.

Vhile in describing my invention I have referred to certain details of mechanical construction and arrangement of parts, .it is to be understood .that the invention is in no way limited thereto except as may be pointed out in the appended claim.

I claim as my invention-z In a machine of the class described, a stapling head adapted for driving1 staples in a vertical plane, a clinching block-in said plane above the stapling head, and a horizontal table at oneside of the driving plane of said stapling head, said table being provided with av transverse groove substantially in line with said stapling head of sulicient depth to facilitate the turning of substantially rectangular boxes.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I aiiix my signature this th day of October, A. D. 1923.

HARRISON B. WALTER. 

